Graham sentenced to house arrest in doping scandal

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Athletics coach Trevor Graham was sentenced by a U.S. judge on Tuesday to one year of home confinement for lying to federal agents investigating the BALCO doping scandal, according to media reports.

Graham's attorney and prosecutors were not immediately available for comment.

Graham triggered a huge steroid scandal by anonymously sending the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency a syringe with a then-undetectable steroid that was traced back to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), a San Francisco-area company.

The scandal affected athletics, baseball and American football, and led to prison time for BALCO founder Victor Conte and others, including Olympic sprinter Marion Jones.

Jamaican-born Graham formerly trained Jones and disgraced sprinters Tim Montgomery and Justin Gatlin.

Graham, who ran in the 1988 Olympic 4x400 meters relay for Jamaica, was convicted in May of lying over his relationship with Angel Heredia, a Mexican athlete who testified he sold performance-enhancing drugs to Graham and his athletes.

In July, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Graham had been banned for life from coaching or participating in activities of several sports organizations including the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds, baseball's all-time home run leader, has also been indicted in connection with the BALCO scandal. He has denied knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs.

(Reporting by Jim Christie; Editing by Ed Osmond)